Relevance IN - Prelims (about G20 + Extraordinary Virtual G20 Leaders' Summit takeaways) + Mains (GS II international organisations)
What's the NEWS

• An Extraordinary Virtual G20 Leaders' Summit chaired by Saudi Arabia was convened on 26 March 2020 to discuss the challenges posed by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and to forge a global coordinated response. Saudi Arabia coordinated the video summit.

Know! more about the summit highlights

• The extraordinary G20 Summit was a culmination of the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting and G20 Sherpas Meeting on the COVID-19 pandemic.
• G20 countries committed to inject over USD 5 trillion into the global economy to counter the social and economic impact of COVID-19.
• Leaders also agreed to contribute to the WHO led COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund on a voluntary basis.
• G20 members were joined by leaders from the invited countries - Spain, Jordan, Singapore, and Switzerland, as well as international organizations - United Nations, World Bank, IMF, World Health Organization and World Trade Organization.

Know! more about G20

• The G20 is an international forum for the governments and central bank governors from 19 countries and the European Union (EU).
• Founded in 1999 with the aim to discuss policy pertaining to the promotion of international financial stability.
• The 2019 G20 Osaka summit was the fourteenth meeting of the G20, a forum of 19 countries and the EU that together represent most of the world economy.It was the first G20 summit to be hosted by Japan.
• 90% of the COVID-19 cases and 88% of deaths were in G20 countries even as they share 80% of world GDP and 60% of world population.

• Government Schemes

Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana
Relevance IN - Prelims (factual takeaways about the relief package under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana)
What's the NEWS

• The Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Smt. Niramla Sitharaman announced Rs 1.70 Lakh Crore relief package under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana for the poor to help them fight the battle against Corona Virus
• The government will offer cash transfer through DBT (direct benefit transfer) in eight parts: Farmers, MNREGA, widows, poor pensioners, divyang, women under Jan Dhan Yojana, women and households under Ujjwala scheme, self-help groups for women including those under the livelihood mission, organised sector workers under EPFO, construction workers and district mineral funds.

Know! about the components of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package: -
Insurance scheme for health workers

• Insurance scheme for health workers fighting COVID-19 in Government Hospitals and Health Care Centres
• Insurance cover of Rs 50 Lakh per health worker fighting COVID-19 to be provided under Insurance Scheme

PM Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana

• 80 crore poor people will to get 5 kg wheat or rice and 1 kg of preferred pulses for free every month for the next three months
• Each one of them would be provided double of their current entitlement over next three months.

Benefit to farmers:

• The first instalment of Rs 2,000 due in 2020-21 will be front-loaded and paid in April 2020 itself under the PM KISAN Yojana.

Cash transfers Under PM Garib Kalyan Yojana:

• 20 crore women Jan Dhan account holders to get Rs 500 per month for next three months
• Under PM Garib Kalyan Yojana, gas cylinders, free of cost, would be provided to 8 crore poor families for the next three months.

District Mineral Fund

• The State Government will be asked to utilise the funds available under District Mineral Fund (DMF) for supplementing and augmenting facilities of medical testing, screening and other requirements in connection with preventing the spread of CVID-19 pandemic as well as treating the patients affected with this pandemic.

MNREGA

• Increase in MNREGA wage to Rs 202 a day from Rs 182 to benefit 13.62 crore families

Senior Citizens

• An ex-gratia of Rs 1,000 to 3 crore poor senior citizen, poor widows and poor disabled

Organised Sector

• Employees' Provident Fund Regulations will be amended to include Pandemic as the reason to allow non-refundable advance of 75 percent of the amount or three months of the wages, whichever is lower, from their accounts. Families of four crore workers registered under EPF can take benefit of this window.
• Welfare Fund for Building and Other Constructions Workers has been created under a Central Government Act.

There are around 3.5 Crore registered workers in the Fund.
Building and other construction Workers Welfare Fund

• State Governments will be given directions to utilise this fund to provide assistance and support to these workers to protect them against economic disruptions.

Know! about Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY)

• It is an amnesty scheme launched by the Government of India in December 2016 on the lines of the Income declaration scheme, 2016 (IDS) launched earlier in the year.
• A part of the Taxation Laws (Second Amendment) Act, 2016, the scheme provides an opportunity to declare unaccounted wealth and black money in a confidential manner and avoid prosecution after paying a fine of 50% on the undisclosed income.
• An additional 25% of the undisclosed income is invested in the scheme which can be refunded after four years, without any interest.
• Valid from December 16, 2016 to March 31, 2017, the scheme can only be availed to declare income in the form of cash or bank deposits in Indian bank accounts and not in the form of jewellery, stock, immovable property, or deposits in overseas accounts.

Prelims Factoids
#StayHomeIndiaWithBooks initiative

Relevance IN - Prelims (about #StayHomeIndiaWithBooks initiative + about NBT)
What's the NEWS

• To encourage people to #StayIn and #StayHome, the National Book Trust of HRD Ministry, in its efforts to encourage people to read books while at home, is providing its select and best-selling titles for FREE Download as part of its initiative of #StayHomeIndiaWithBooks!
• The 100+ books, in PDF format, can be downloaded from the NBT's website https://nbtindia.gov.in.

Know! about NBT

• National Book Trust (NBT) is an Indian publishing house, founded in 1957 as an autonomous body under the Ministry of Education of the Government of India. NBT now functions under aegis of Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India

IMF has Launched a Tracker to Monitor the Policies Launched by the COVID-19 Governments
Relevance IN - Prelims (about the Policy Tracker and its objective + about IMF)
What's the NEWS

• The IMF is launching a policy tracker to help the member countries to be more aware of the experiences of others in combating the pandemic, and in adapting various policies and practices to their unique circumstances and needs.
• Sharing knowledge about COVID-19 enables us all to tackle the crisis more effectively

Know! more about the policy tracker

• This policy tracker summarizes the key economic responses
• The tracker is not meant for comparison across members, as policy responses vary depending on the nature of the shock and country-specific circumstances.
• The tracker focuses on discretionary actions that supplement existing social safety nets and insurance mechanisms.
• The initial policy tracker includes the G20 and European Institutions.
• More countries will be added soon, and information will be updated on a regular basis.

Know! about IMF

• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an organization of 189 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world.
• Created in 1945, the IMF is governed by and accountable to the 189 countries that make up its near-global membership.
• The IMF's primary purpose is to ensure the stability of the international monetary system-the system of exchange rates and international payments that enables countries (and their citizens) to transact with each other.

A Covid tracker app

Relevance IN - Prelims (about the app and its working mechanism + objective)
What's the NEWS

• The government is likely to launch a smartphone application to help users check if they crossed paths with patients who tested positive for coronavirus.

Know! about the upcoming app

• The contours of the app, is currently being examined by a committee, after separate efforts by the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) and the Niti Aayog (the government's policy think-tank)
• Both apps - the one developed by MeitY, and the other, by the Niti Aayog, were being beta-tested and examined in detail
• This app, is likely to be launched in "one or two days". It is likely to be rolled out in all Indian languages.

Know! the working mechanism

• Over the last few days, MeitY had been testing an Android-based app called ‘Corona Kavach', which would help users check if they crossed paths with patients who tested positive for coronavirus.
• The app, will use the phone number of the user, along with the location data of the smartphone, and match his/her movements with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) data on the backend.
• The ICMR data already has the movements of patients who have tested positive for the virus.
• For nearby tracking, Kavach uses Bluetooth technology, which is similar to the open-source, TraceTogether app developed by the Singapore government.
  
  

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